When Is “Early” Too Early For Christmas?

Now that Halloween is over and has slunk back into The Upside Down, it seems Christmas has permeated the air. …

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Now that Halloween is over and has slunk back into The Upside Down, it seems Christmas has permeated the air.

You’ve barely finished scarfing down your ghoulish treats and then bam! Christmas decorations are draped on store shelves. Holiday tunes are blaring on the PA system.

If you’re in the agency/media business, you’re reminded to get your ad buys in before holiday inventory sells out. Retailers are rolling out their Christmas ads. Radio stations try to get a jump on each other on who’ll brand themselves first as the city’s Christmas station playing winter wonderland tunes 24/7. Restaurants are relentlessly doing the dog and pony show to lure companies to make their reservations for their office Christmas parties.

I hear from many, it’s a bit too much, too soon.

You think that’s early?

Try growing up in a Filipino household like I did. Though I was born and raised in Canada, many family traditions from the Philippines were kept. One of them was celebrating the 100 days to Christmas. Every September 1st, Christmas decorations were brought out of their summer hibernation, ready to spread Christmas cheer. As a kid, all my friends thought it was so cool to revel in yuletide merriments this early. We’d celebrate the September 1st launch with traditional Filipino Christmas dishes that would be the envy of every foodie’s craving. Lechon (roasted pig), Pansit (a chow mein like noodle dish) and Chicken Adobo (slow cooked chicken bathed in soy sauce, garlic and peppercorn) were always on the dinner menu. But I honestly think the real reason why my brother, sister and I got into the advanced Christmas spirit back in our pre-and-early elementary school years, was the lure of our wrapped Christmas presents under the tree. We gently shook them and tried ever so carefully to lift the cellophane tape off the wrapper to peek underneath. But as we all got older, and we realized we were out of step with rest of our neighbours when it came to our outdoor Christmas decorations, we finally relented to counting down three weeks out from December 25th.